1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new fuel control system for a burner means and to a new control means for such a system as well as to a new method of making such a control system and to a new method of making such a control means.
2. Prior Art Statement
It is known to provide a fuel control system comprising a burner means, valve means for controlling the flow of fuel to the burner means, an electrical resistance igniter means for being connected across a power source for igniting fuel at the burner means, flame detecting means for detecting flame at the burner means, and control means operatively interconnected to all of the other means for connecting the igniter means across the power source for a warm-up time period at the start of each burner cycle and then operating the valve means to supply fuel to the burner means for a valve trial time period that begins upon the lapse of the warm-up time period, the flame detecting means causing the control means to tend to continue to operate the valve means to supply the fuel to the burner means during that particular burner cycle if the flame detecting means detects flame at the burner means before the lapsing of the trial time period, the time period it takes to detect flame by the flame detecting means beginning from the start of the valve trial time period to when flame is detected in any burner cycle comprising a flame detecting time period for that particular burner cycle, the control means reducing the length of the warm-up time period in subsequent successive burner cycles in which ignition is successful until the control means detects a certain event in a particular successive burner cycle at which time the control means then increases the length of the previously reduced warm-up time period a certain amount, the certain event being an unsuccessful burner cycle in which ignition does not occur. For example, see the U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,386 to Donnelly et al.